Some of these services, including Nutmeg, Scalable Capital and Moneyfarm, offer investors a watered down version of fully regulated investment advice. This could either be information and a slick technology platform on which to choose and manage your investments or 'simplified' advice that guides you towards the best funds after you tell them your risk appetite.

Others, including eVestor and newly launched Timber, offer full-fat advice that recommends specific funds and whether you should invest through a pension, Isa or other means depending on your personal financial situation and goals.

Below, we have taken an in-depth look at both Investec's and HSBC's new offerings and how they compare.

What is Investec offering?

Click & Invest stands out from the crowd in the sense that while the vast majority of robos put investors' money in passive investments - typically exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track certain indices - it invests in actively managed funds.

Managers of active funds choose investments with the goal of outperforming an investment benchmark index. Active investments are typically more expensive than passively managed propositions, due to a higher day-to-day management burden.

She said: 'There is no getting away from the fact that active management is more expensive. While we believe that passives are great when the markets are good, ultimately, active investment is going to see you right.

'It is competitively priced and isn't shy about using active funds. Many of these new robo-advice services seem fixated on passive, which I haven't got anything against, but it seems cost driven in lots of cases.

'So it is nice to see someone championing active in this world. Fees look decent, but Investec might struggle to get the underlying fund fees all-in for 0.6 per cent.'

What do you get?

Investec said its in-house team of investment managers will create and actively manage investment portfolios on behalf of clients. They will comprise of a portion of funds from a pool of 300 actively managed funds.

Crucially, the service does not solely offer funds operated by its well-known asset management arm. Its investment universe comprises of active funds managed by a host of providers including BlackRock and Schroders.

The funds are assessed and reviewed on a monthly basis with the aim of outperforming the market.

How much does it cost?

The service levies 0.65 per cent on the first £100,000 invested, 0.50 per cent on the next £150,000 invested and 0.35 per cent on any amounts invested over £250,000.

The figures are not inclusive of fund charges which can amount to between 0.35 per cent and 0.7 per cent.

A customer with £10,000 to invest would be charged a minimum of 1 per cent and a max of 1.35 per cent every year to use the service.

What is HSBC offering?

HSBC is yet to finalise important details such as the cost of the proposition and minimum investment requirement

HSBC's robo-adviser is aimed at people with savings of less than £15,000, which is the threshold of standalone investment advice.

The bank says it will complement the HSBC's existing branch-based advice, currently offered through its advisory arm and boasting more than 700 advisers.

Expert view

Scott Gallacher, chartered financial planner at Rowley Turton, said: 'Recent regulation has created an advice gap which needs to be filled with something. While I am not a massive fan of robo-advice, it could help to tackle the issue.

'HSBC is a little late in the game and I'm not sure if the take-up will be high enough for the proposition to be profitable.'

Taylan Turan, head of premier and Wealth at HSBC UK, said: 'We want to ensure our customers can get financial advice when and where they need or choose to do it, whether that be in person, on the phone or online.

'We have significant experience in the wealth market and from talking to our customers we know that targeted, relevant and personalised online advice is what they want.'

Who is it for?

People with savings of less than £15,000. Important details such as the cost of the proposition and minimum investment requirement are yet to be unveiled.

What do you get?

The system will recommend investments from its own funds but it's not yet confirmed whether HSBC will host products from third party providers.

How much does it cost?

The bank is keeping quiet on how much the robo-advice service will cost for the moment.

However a spokesman for the organisation said it will be 'clear and concise for customers with a costs displayed in pounds and pence'.

Ranges from 1.0.1% and 1.11% of your total investment payable in fees. This is an overall cost, and comprises of a mandatory ongoing advice charge of 0.50% and investment management charges which range between 0.51% and 0.61%.

The firm said its charges are always less than 0.5 per cent. Of this, 0.35 per cent goes to eVestor for advice, portfolio management, custody and administration of the underlying portfolios. The rest will go on fund costs, which range between 0.09 and 0.13 per cent.

A monthly flat fee of 0.75 per cent which is calculated on the average value of a customer's portfolio each month.

What is robo-advice?

Robo-advice is the term given to a new breed of automated investment. It’s largely offered by online investment managers, who have worked out a low-cost way to offer individuals wanting to invest a way to get started.

Instead of grilling the individual on every aspect of their finances, the investment manager offers them access to a number of investment portfolios and identifies which might be suitable for them based on how they answer an online questionnaire.

They are quizzed on some elements of their financial position, objectives and attitude to risk and depending on the answers they give, a computer algorithm then categorises them accordingly and presents them with a broad investment strategy. The portfolio usually consists of passive investments that track certain indices, such as exchange traded funds, that don’t require oversight by active managers and so are much cheaper to run.

What are the benefits?

It’s quick and convenient. Robo-advice comes from companies operating online, most of which also have apps, so individuals can access investment opportunities wherever they are at any time of the day or night. They are spared the time and hassle of having to find and visit a financial adviser, who will grill them on every aspect of their financial affairs to come up with a bespoke investment strategy as part of a detailed financial plan. And as mentioned above, it’s low-cost by comparison to traditional face-to-face advice and active investment management.

What are the risks?

The companies tend not to offer financial or investment advice specific to an individual’s needs. They are responsible for devising investment strategies suitable for certain types of investor only. They do not make personal recommendations. This means that the investment strategy might not be the most appropriate for your situation and you may be better off with another strategy.

While these companies offering investment on an ‘execution only’ basis – where the individual is responsible for their own decisions - are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, all this means is that should one go bust, your money would be protected up to £50,000 per institution under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. It doesn’t pay out if you think you might have been mis-sold the investment strategy.

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FUND JARGON BUSTER

The investment industry's world of abbreviations...Acc: Accumulation - any income generated by the fund like dividends or interest is automatically reinvested.Inc: Income - any income generated is distributed by the fund instead of being reinvested. Dis: Distribution - any income generated is distributed by the fund instead of being reinvested. R: Retail - the fund is aimed at ordinary investors. I/Inst: Institutional - the fund is aimed at corporate investors like pension funds. A, B, M, X etc: Different fund houses use letters for different things. Check with them what they stand for. NT/No trail: Some fund houses use this name on clean funds which carry no commissions for financial advisers, supermarkets or brokers, just the fee levied by the fund manager. But other fund houses use different letters - I, D or Y, for example - so you need to find out for yourself which are clean funds. Gr: Stands for gross. GBP/£: Fund denominated in pounds. EUR: Fund denominated in euros. USD/$: Fund denominated in US dollars. Compiled with online stockbroker The Share Centre